Tag Archives: homemade

I received this guest post submission a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been looking forward to sharing it with you ever since. It was submitted by Kate from Missouri, and I have to say, I can’t wait to put these recipes to use. I’ve been making wheat berries since Don Pectol taught me the easiest way to use wheat, and I think I can use the same method to cook some oat groats for these recipes.

Thanks, Kate!

--Sarah (aka, Urban Girl)

Oatmeal is a staple storage food for many families, and for good reason. It's easy to prepare, inexpensive, has great nutritional value, and lasts for years when stored properly. It is also extremely versatile: oatmeal is mild-tasting enough to act as a base for hundreds of other foods. Maintaining variety in your meals is an important part of your mental health and overall happiness during a survival situation.

Here are some of my favorite ways to enjoy a big bowl of oatmeal, adapted to include foods that you probably already have in your storage. Most of these ingredients are available on the Emergency Essentials web site.

Note from the Editor: These recipes will all be equally delicious using whole Oat Groats if you don’t have a mill to turn your stored oats into oatmeal. Simply cook them in a rice cooker or on the stovetop as you would rice, with 3 parts water to 1 part Oat Groats. Our notes are included in italics below.

Brown sugar oats - this "recipe" is as simple as it sounds. Drop a big spoonful of brown sugar in the middle of your oatmeal and let it dissolve before eating.

Creamy oats and honey - cook your oats with milk instead of water. Dissolve an additional tablespoon of milk powder into 1/4 cup of milk, then heat this "cream" until hot. Pour over your bowl of oatmeal, and add a drizzle of honey.

Mock Muesli* - Muesli is a breakfast food that is very popular in Europe. Mix together 1/2 cup dry oats, 2Tbsp raisins, and 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar. Add 1/2 cup of milk, and eat like cold cereal.

* To adjust for oat groats, simply add the same ingredients to the cooked oats; start with 1/3 cup milk and add more as needed to achieve your desired consistency.

Homemade granola** - mix together 2 cups of dry oats, 1/2 cup raisins, 3 Tablespoons brown sugar, and a dash of salt. In a separate bowl, mix together 1/3 cup oil and 1/3 cup honey. Pour liquids over the oat mixture, and stir well. I usually bake the granola at 200 degrees for an hour and a half, but you could try using an alternative method. Campfire granola sounds pretty cool! Eat with cold milk, or dry for an on-the-go snack.

**This recipe is best with oatmeal, not groats.

These are just ideas for oats you can eat in a bowl. You can also make pancakes, muffins, cookies, and breads from my favorite grain! Oats can be ground into flour and used in conjunction with wheat flour in many recipes. As an example, here's my basic oatmeal pancake recipe (best made with oatmeal, not groats):

Soak oats in 1/2 cup milk while you prepare the dry ingredients. Mix oat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla powder in a medium bowl. Stir the oats and milk into your flour mixture, and add the reconstituted egg. Place an oiled skillet over medium heat. Pour pancakes, and flip to brown both sides. Serve with honey or brown sugar.

Optional:

Try some variations! Mix dried fruits into the batter, use cocoa powder to make chocolate pancakes, boil some sugar to make homemade syrup….you're only limited by your imagination.

Storing oatmeal and a few of these add-ins is an easy way to ensure that your food storage won't ever get boring. I have been eating oatmeal for breakfast every morning for YEARS, and I still look forward to them because I change the ingredients so often. Experiment with your favorite flavor combinations now so that you can stock up, then enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you have months of inexpensive breakfasts stored in your pantry.

Preparation:
Mix the milk powder with the water in a blender until smooth. Heat mixture to a scald over stove top in large pot or in a crock pot (not too hot or it will kill the yogurt's live culture). Watch so it doesn't burn if you are doing this on the stove top. Cool to room temperature (lukewarm to the touch with your finger in it counting to 10. Or if you have a thermometer...till it reads about 120 degrees F).

Add the following and mix well: 1 Cup starter (plain yogurt or freeze dried yogurt starter or saved yogurt from your previous batch - this needs to be renewed after a month or the taste becomes sour).

Put into a gallon glass jar with a lid and place in some kind of hotbox (wonder box or thermal box) in a warm room for 12- 14 hours until thickened. If you don't have a hotbox, leave it in your crockpot, unplugged, and wrapped in a large towel to keep warm. You can also put it in a cooler wrapped in warm towels.

Once thickened: Refrigerate up to 12 hours. May need stirring before use. It does thicken more as it is refrigerated. You may add freeze dried fruit, jam, or a bit of vanilla for flavored yogurt. However, remember to set some plain aside first if you are going to use it as a starter for the next batch.

Hint: Freeze your remaining purchased plain yogurt in ice cube trays to have on hand for the next batch's starter when needed. Good for 6 months in the freezer.

Enjoy!

HOMEMADE CREAM CHEESE

You can also make homemade cream cheese from your own yogurt that you've made. Take one cup of yogurt and place it in the center of a clean TERRY face cloth or a CHEESE cloth (these are sold at your local food store) that is laid over a small bowl. This cloth will act as a "strainer" for your yogurt. Fold the cloth up. Then take a rubber band and wrap the rubber band around the cloth just up past the point where the yogurt comes to. At this point it will look like you've wrapped up a tennis ball in a cloth with a rubber band to hold the "present" closed. Then take a hanger and hook the rubber band onto the hook of the hanger. Hang the hanger up on your kitchen cupboard door knob or hang the hanger onto a large pot or something strong enough to let it hang. Place the small bowl under your wrapped hanging yogurt and let it just hang there to drip the liquids out for 4 hours.

If you want to (and are home), you can just give it a gentle squeeze now and again to softly wring out some of the liquid. But that step is not necessary. You can just leave your yogurt hanging for 8 hours if you want to while you are gone to work, too. After this there will be liquid in your bowl. Open up the cloth.....you will find a round soft ball of plain CREAM CHEESE! It's THAT simple! Keep refrigerated once this is completed. You can always flavor it with a little bit of sea salt and dill or a little pepper or whatever favorite seasonings you like. You can use it on crackers, breads, toast, bagels or flavor it with fruit extracts instead of the seasonings.